Donna Rhodes



Donna Rhodes
Fiber artist, author, educator, designer

My family tree is unique. Not a single one of my kin was born with a left
brain. We are a collection of artists and fine craftsmen whose idea of a
slow, agonizing death is to be forced to sit through a financial planning
seminar. But, give us a jar of wood glue, a plank, a scroll saw, and a
couple of shiny objects, and we are entertained for days.

It would then follow that my whole life has been dedicated to avoiding
paperwork and other left-brain activities. Sure.... that is why I teach
school, run a business on the side (Warp and Woof Creations), and am
currently pitching a TV pilot for teaching little kids Fine Art. There are
days I feel personally responsible for deforesting half of the Amazon Basin.

Nevertheless, when I travel cross-country to give a seminar or when a kid
has a major “A-HA!” or when my pilot sells (pleasegodpleasegodpleasegod) I
will tell you every ream of paper and deadline-met was worth the effort!
Still.... the days when I have time to stitch to my heart's content or run
my fingers through a stash of crushed velvets or boucle, I feel most in tune
with my Muse.... who is named Hilda, by the way.

I have one other love: Music. Every so often I dress up in Elizabethan garb
and launch into a rousing chorus of “Pastime With Good Companye”, a
rollicking tune by Henry XIII. Before your eyes glaze over, let me quickly
add that our ensemble, Ars Antiqua, has made a music video. You won¹t see it
on MTV, but we are nevertheless a smashing hit with fourth-graders from
California to Maine. And we made a TV commercial for NIKE which aired a
couple of years ago around Superbowl time. The Renaissance meets the Age of
Technology. That is a wonderful metaphor for me, because I feel like a true
Renaissance woman, dabbling in everything from Krummhorn tootling to clay
sculpture.

So I shall remain a devoted right-brained warped weaver. My mission is to
make the world a more beautiful place, thread by thread, color by color,
note by note.

Excuse me now, I¹ve got to check in with Hilda. I think she has a project in
mind... something involving a marigold dye bath and a couple of shiny
objects... oooh.... shiny objects!

Donna Rhodes
Art Quarter Gallery and Studios
Franklin, NC